Fabric-exhibitor.



No. ea.s5s. Patented Dec. l7, l90l. a. L. HEYMAN.

FABRIC EXHIBITOR.

(Application filed Jan. 81, 1901.)

(No Modal.)

DYE/5755555 W fr.

Tu: NQRms PETERS ca. motouma, WASHINGTON, n. c. v

UNITED STATES Pater tries.

GUSTAV L. l-IEYMAN, OF OARLISLE, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR h ONE-HALF TO JAMES M. lIOlVE, OF CARLISLE, KENTUCKY.

FABRlC EXHlBlTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,853, dated December 17, 1901.

- Application filed January 31, 1901. Serial No. 45,427. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GUSTAV L. HEYMAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Carlisle, Nicholas county, State of Kentucky,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fabric-Exhibitors; and I do hereby declare that the following is aclear, full, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, attention being called to the accompanying drawings, with the reference-numerals marked thereon, which form also a part of this specification.

This invention relates to devices used for supporting conveniently for inspection and handling fabrics which are sold from the roll. .One of such materials here in View is oil-cloth, for instance, and particularly table oil-cloth,

2.0 which comes in rolls from which the desired quantities to be sold are measured and cut off as required.

One of the objects of my invention is to conveniently hold and support these rolls in a a5 manner to show to prospective customers selecting goods the kind, quality, &c., of the particular material without rendering it necessary to open orotherwise handle these rolls.

Another object .is to provide means which 0 readilypermit to unwind from any selected roll the desired quantity to be sold, provision ibeingalso made for measuring this quantity .and ,for convenientlycutting ,from the roll .theamount so measured off.

The invention consists of certain features .ofconstruction and arrangement of parts to vattain these objects, all as more fully set forth hereinafter, and pointed out in the claims. (The following specification contains a description thereof, together with the operation,

parts, andconstruction, which latter is also illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure .1 is,an elevation of the device as it 5 appears duringuse. Fig. 2 is an elevation at right angles .to the preceding figure. Fig. 3 is a top viewof Fig. ,1. Fig. at is an enlarged horizontal section of some of the parts shownin the preceding figure. Fig. 5, also enlarged,

shows part of one of the rolls and the means for suspending it in an upright position. Figs. 6 and 7 are enlarged detail views of these means, being a hearing which supports the upper end of the rolls. Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail view of the joint whereby the measuring-stick is adjustably connected to the device. Fig. 9 shows in a sectional cletailview the catch for holding the doors closed.

13 is the base of the device and 14 the top, the two being held to each other by inter- 6o mediate frame members 15. Between these two and vertically disposed there are a number of rods 16, more or less, and of suitable material, wood or iron, forming mandrels for supporting the rolls of fabric.' The ends 0f'65 these rods are so held in their bearings as to be free to rotate with a roll when a hold is taken of its free end for the purpose of draw-- ing off therefroma certain quantity. For such purpose the upper end of each rod has a circular projection or button 17, adapted to be slid sidewise through a slot 18 into its bearing 19, secured to the under side of top 14, the inner end of which slot is also deeper, forming a socket 21, into which button 17 finally drops and holds the rod suspended. (See Figs. 6 and 7.) There areno further supports for the rods, but to hold them against lateral displacement the lower end of each occupies a socket 22 in base 13. It is understood now that these rods cannot leave their bearings laterally unless they are lifted first sufficiently to clear the sockets their ends occupy. In practice, and particularly in the case of table oil-cloth, the rolls as they are received by retail dealers are wound upon wooden rods, which are simply pushed out and replaced by my rods, both being of the same diameter. The lower ends of the rolls rest each upon a support 23, which supports 0 are removably secured to rods 16 by setscrews 24, the object being to prevent the rolls from resting upon base 13, which would interfere with the free rotation of rods 16. Neither should the rolls touch the supports 5 at the upper ends'of rods 16, to preventwhich I provide flanges 25, which prevent the rolls from being pushed up too high on rods 16. Material from any'roll may now be freely drawn off by simply taking hold of its free rotating with its rod 16. This latterturns freely in the bearings atits ends, there being by reason of limited contact very little fricdrical surface.

tion.

Imorder to permit at any time inspection of the goods as to pattern, quality, &c., without having to unwind and show them each separately, 1 provide flaps 26, onefor each roll, around and over which a part of the material 27 near the free end of the roll is drawn. These flaps are hingedly secured at their upper and lower ends between base and top of the device,and they are of such width that the free upright edge of one iiap closely approaches the hinged edge'of the adjoining one, so that; with them all in such position they at the same time form doors which completely inclose the device. They are further curved transversely on a line corresponding to the periphery of the device at the particular point where they are hinged, so that when so closed they form and present a continuous cylin- This surface then, when the device is loaded, presents vertically-disposed fields of material '27, each showing a portion of the fabric of a particular roll inside. These exposed portions thus serve as samples from which a selection may be made in a convenient manner by simply walking around the device thereby obviatingthe handling and partial opening of each particular roll. The stock is at the same time kept in a convenient manner and compact form, thoroughly inclosed, and thereby secure and protected against dust, dirt, &c.

In order to hold the free edge of the material closely to its particular door 26, I provide at the free edge of each of these latter a locking-fiap 28, hingedly secured thereto and adapted to swingaboutsuch free edge. These flaps may be turned inside and to a position in which they lie close against the inner side of doors 26 to permit closing them. With sulficient of the fabric pulled through between the two when open and swung out, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, that part of the fabric extending beyond the free edge of door 26 is clamped in between this latter and its flap 28 when this latter is swung in, as before explained, and whereby the end of the fabric is securely held when the doors are closed. In order to hold these two parts together in this manner and for such purpose, I provide a spring 29 for each flap 28, attached to the top or base of the device and so located as to be partly in the way of said flap when this latter, with door 26, is swung inwardly and closed. The spring is thus set under tension and by its resistance and while bearing against flap 28 holds this latter closely against door 26, with the end of the fabric clamped between the two. The doors-are so heldin their closed position and against the action of these springs by spring-catches 31, preferably secured to edge, whereupon the particular roll unwinds, l the under side of the top of the device and reaching outwardly over the upper edges of the doors. They also project down on the outside of these latter, so as to catch the upper outer edges of these doors, as shown best in Fig. 9. To open any door, -itis only necessary to lift the end of this catch off of the door, whereby this latter is pushed partly open, a start being given it by spring 29 inside. To permit the catch to be so raised, there'is a recess provided above it and in the under side of top 14. The manipulation now for gaining access to any particular roll is simply to release the particular door showing on its outside the selected sample 27, after which its flap 2Sis straightened out, permitting a hold to beobtained of the freeend of the goods, of which now as much as desired is pulled out. To permit the desired length to be conveniently measured off, I provide a yardstick 32, pivotally connected to the top of the device, so that it may be swung to any point to meet the position of any particular roll selected and on which it is to be used. It is jointed to prevent it from becoming an obstruction by reason of its extension when not in use, for which purpose it is hingedly connected to one end of an arm 33, the other end of which is pivotally attached to the center of the top of the device. This joint is so located that when not in use the stick may hang down close to the side of the device, as shown in Fig. 8, where it is not in the Way. It is held out extended by means of a suitable spring-catch 34k, a perforation at the end of which receives a projection 35 near the outer end of arm 33. In order to meet the upper edge of the fabric issuing from below top 14, it is necessary to hold the stick at proper height below such top, for which purpose the outer end of arm 33 is turned down, as shown, so as to bring the joint to the proper position. It is equally necessary that the upper edges of the material on all the rolls when pulled out alsouneet the yardstick, for which purpose the rolls must all be supported with their upper ends at nearly even height, which height must again be in line with the yard stick when this latter is in its extended position. For such purposes when the rolls are first placed on their respective mandrels or rods they are all pushed up close against flanges 25 thereon and held so by supports 23, which are followed up against the lower ends of the roll and held there by setscrew 24. In this manner the fact that the material of the roll is of various widths does not interfere with theoperation of the device. In order to have the material to pass out as near as possible on a straight line from the roll over the outside of its door 26, through between this latter and flap 28. and to the yardstick, this latter must extend in a position, as best illustratedin Fig. 3, that is not arm 33 at an angle. By having theinner end of the yard-measure even with the free edge of flaps 28 such edge may be utilized as a mark by which to go when cutting the material measured-off. An additional 36 may be provided parallel to the free edge of fiap 28 and with a space between the two. This produces a guideway 37, in which an inserted knife-blade may be guided while the material is being cut, as shown in Fig. 4. This additional strip 36 may be held in place by the edge-irons 38, by which the upper and lower edges of doors 26 and flaps 28 are bound and which edge-irons also contain the various hinges. These parts need not necessarily be of iron, but may be of other suitable metal. In order to hold up the outer free end of the material measured off while the same is cut, I provide pins 39, one at the outer end of the yardstick, designating the outer end of the yard, the inner end of it, as already stated, being coincident with the edge of flap 28 or slit 37, where the cutting is done. There is also an intermediate pin 39 to be used when fractions of a yard are sold and which is adjustable in position, for which purpose it is carried on a slide 40, adjust-ably mounted on the yardstick. It is provided with a suitable spring-catch 41, which when engaging notches 42, provided at the quarter, half, and three-quarter mark of the yardstick, holds the pin in its intended position.

The device, as shown, might be provided with casters under its base or it might be mounted in a manner to be capable of rotation thereon.

Having described my invention, I claim as new-- 1. In a fabric-exhibitor, the combination of vertical rods 16 having buttons 17 at their upper ends, a top having bearings 19 on its under side provided with sockets and laterally open to permit insertion or removal of rods 16, which when in position are suspended on bearings 9 with buttons 17 occupying the sockets in said bearings, a base having sockets 22 vertically opposite and below the sockets in the top which receive the lower ends of rods 16 to confine them against lateral displacement and a removable support 23 adjustably secured to each rod.

2. In a fabric-exhibitor, the combination of a base and top, rods vertically held between the two and adapted to serve as mandrels to support fabric in roll form, a flap for each roll to receive a part of the material thereof near its free end, which part is drawn over the outside of such flap and means to hold the free end of the material to the latter.

3. In a fabric-exhibitor, the combination of a base and top, rods vertically held between them so as to be free to rotate and adapted to support rolls of fabric, upright doors hinged between top and base one for each roll and arranged on a circular line, so as to form when guide-strip terial from the rolls edgewise, part of such' material from each roll when drawn over the outside of such doors, becoming visible from the outside when these latter are closed and means to hold the free ends of the material to the doors.

4. In a fabrieexhibitor, the combination of a base and top, rods vertically held between them, so as to be free to rotate and adapted to support rolls of fabric, upright doors hinged between base andtop, one for each roll, part of the material from each of which being drawn over the outside of such doors and around the free edges thereof, and lockingflaps hingedly secured to these latter edges and adapted to be closed against the doors with the free end of the material between in order to hold the same in place.

5. In a fabric-exhibitor, the combination of a base and top, rods vertically held between them, so as to be free to rotate and adapted to support rolls of fabric, upright doors hinged between base and top, one for each roll, part of the material from each to be drawn over the outside of such doors and around the free edges thereof, locking-flaps hingedly secured to these latter edges and adapted to be closed against the doors with the free end of the material between in order to hold the same in place and means serving to guide a cutting implement while separating'the fabric drawn out from the roll.

6. In a fabric-exhibitor, the combination of a base and top, rods vertically held between them, so as to be free to rotate and adapted to support rolls of fabric and a yardstick extending laterally from the device and adj ust ably secured thereto, so as to be capable of use in connection with any of the rolls.

7. In a fabric-exhibitor, the combination of a base and top, rods vertically held between them, so as to be free to rotate and adapted to support rolls of fabric, an arm pivotally attached at the center of the top and extending to the edge thereof, a yardstick hingedly attached to the free end of this arm and a catch device whereby said stick may be held in a position so as to extend laterally from the device.

8. In a fabric-exhibitor, the combination of a base and top, rods vertically held between them, so as to be free to-rotate and adapted to support rolls of fabric, upright doors hinged between top and base, between which the material is drawn out from the rolls, a laterallyextending yardstick for measuring the ma terial drawn out, means acting as guide while separating thisdrawn-out material from the rest and a support on the yardstick to hold this material while being so separated.

9. In a fabric-exhibitor, the combination ofa base and top, rods vertically held between IIO them, so as to be free to rotate and adapted each door to hold it closed with the lookingto support rolls of fabric, upright doors hinged flap inside and a spring on the inside to hold between base and top, one for each roll, part the locking-flap against the insideof the door of the material from each of which being while this latter is closed.

5 drawn over the outside of such doors and In testimony whereof I hereunto set my 15 around the free edges thereof, locking-flanges hand in the presence of two witnesses. hingedly secured to these latter edges and GUSTAV L. I-IEYMAN. adapted to be closed against the doors with I the free end of the material between in order I [O to'hold the same in place, a spring-catch for 1 Witnesses:

. (J. SPENGEL,

ARTHUR KLINE. 

